<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Falling For You by Strangeandstruggling</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24988426">Falling For You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangeandstruggling/pseuds/Strangeandstruggling'>Strangeandstruggling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Ice Skating, Oblivious Leah, Simon and Bram are just living their best lives as boyfriends, Takes place after Simon Vs, disaster bi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:48:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24988426</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangeandstruggling/pseuds/Strangeandstruggling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leah believed that Abby Suso was perfect.</p>
<p>Ever since Abby moved to Georgia, Leah had seen an unreasonably small amount of flaws in Abby. She had perfect grades, she was ridiculously nice, and she was talented in nearly everything she tried, not to mention that she looked gorgeous all of the time. Leah believed that Abby had no flaws, and was almost certain of this until December 14, after the 13th time Abby fell on the ice.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bram Greenfeld/Simon Spier, Leah Burke/Abby Suso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Falling For You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leah believed that Abby Suso was perfect.</p>
<p>Ever since Abby moved to Georgia, Leah had seen an unreasonably small amount of flaws in Abby. She had perfect grades, she was ridiculously nice, and she was talented in nearly everything she tried, not to mention that she looked gorgeous all of the time. Leah believed that Abby had no flaws, and was almost certain of this until December 14, after the 13th time Abby fell on the ice.</p>
<p>None of them were particularly good at ice skating. Simon had already had his fair share of falls, most of them causing Bram to fall with him. Leah constantly stayed near the wall in order to catch herself when she felt herself losing balance. Nick, annoyingly, seemed he was good at this sport as well, lapping the four of them on multiple occasions. But Abby, despite staying by the wall with Leah, had just fallen for the 13th time, which Simon kindly pointed out.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to count how many times I fall.”</p>
<p>“I know, but it’s more fun that way and makes me feel good about myself.” As if on cue, Simon fell to the ground, causing Abby to start laughing from the ground. Bram, miraculously still standing, held a hand out to his boyfriend.</p>
<p>“Hey, babe, maybe you should leave me and Leah to make fun of people who can’t skate.” </p>
<p>“Shut up,” Simon mumbled. As he got back on his feet, he grabbed onto his boyfriend and kissed him. Leah held out a hand to Abby, who was still on the ground. As she got up, Nick came back around, gracefully sliding to a stop next to them.</p>
<p>“Did you fall again? How many times is that now?”</p>
<p>“13,” Simon replied. “14 if we’re counting her fall on the way to the rink.”</p>
<p>“Simon fell too.” Abby had managed to secure herself on the wall, incredibly close to Leah. Leah figured that that was smart. Standing close to each other would help keep them warm.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but Si falls all the time. It's lost its comical appeal. You, on the other hand, didn’t even fall when you were learning that dance for the musical.”</p>
<p>“Even Taylor fell during that dance,” Simon said, instead of defending himself.</p>
<p>“Well, 13 falls is my limit. I’m gonna figure this out.”</p>
<p>And for the next five minutes, she did great. She held onto the wall, walking next to Leah. And despite the fact that even Simon and Bram were close to lapping them, Abby did not fall. That is until the wall disappeared.</p>
<p>“Come on, the entrance is just a few feet. You can do it!”</p>
<p>Abby’s face scrunched up in concentration as she took her hands off the rail and took a step forward. </p>
<p>“Alright, I can do this, it’ll be-Ah!” With a shriek, Abby slid on the ice and grabbed onto the closest thing to her to stop her from falling.</p>
<p>Leah was painfully aware of Abby’s hands on her arm. She froze as Abby death-gripped her arm and regained her balance. </p>
<p>“Are you ok?” Abby glanced up at Leah, her fingers digging into Leah’s arm.</p>
<p>“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Leah started walking forward again, Abby following, still holding on to her arm. When they reached the wall again, Abby immediately clung onto the wall again. Leah’s arm suddenly felt incredibly cold.</p>
<p>As the two girls continued skating, Leah was focusing way too little on the actual skating. She wished she would’ve reacted better when Abby clung onto her. Even though the fact that Abby fell on the ice didn’t mean anything. Leah was just overthinking everything, as usual.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand how anyone can do this,” Abby said, interrupting Leah’s thoughts. “Especially figure skaters. I have an increased admiration for them, now.”</p>
<p>“Aren’t you from New York? Isn’t ice skating, like, a common activity?”</p>
<p>“Maybe for some people, but not my family. This is the first time I’ve done this. Maybe my lack of skill is genetic.”</p>
<p>“The Susos: Good at everything except ice skating.”</p>
<p>Abby laughed, making Leah’s already red face turn a little brighter. “Weird family motto.”</p>
<p>“I think it’s great. Very concise and straight to the point.”</p>
<p>They continued in silence a little farther around the circle, waving to Nick as he passed them again. Simon and Bram came up to them to check the count of Abby’s fall.</p>
<p>“Technically, she hasn’t fallen once since you left.”</p>
<p>“Technically?” Simon went over to the rail to join them, Bram being pulled with him.</p>
<p>“I almost fell, but luckily Leah was there to save my streak. I think I’m actually doing pretty good now.”</p>
<p>“What do you think, Leah?”</p>
<p>“We’ll see what happens when she lets go of the railing.”</p>
<p>“Well, as soon as you finish this lap, let’s go get some hot chocolate. I’m cold.” Simon and Bram skated away, hands connected.</p>
<p>“Well, what do you think?” Abby asked Leah, taking a step forward. “Should I let go? Try to accomplish what my ancestors couldn’t?”</p>
<p>“Hell yeah. Prove your ancestors wrong.”</p>
<p>Abby dramatically threw her hands up in the air, lifting her hands from the railing; then she put them back down to catch her balance again.</p>
<p>Making eye contact, the girls burst out laughing at the failed attempt. Abby’s eyes crinkled as she laughed, and her hair blew into her face as she faced against the wind. Leah couldn’t help but be very proud of herself for being at least partially responsible for making Abby laugh twice in only a few minutes. </p>
<p>After steadying herself, Abby slowly moved her hands off the railing and took a step forward. She quickly smiled at Leah, before looking back down to take another step. Leah walked silently beside her, regardless of the fact that it took five seconds per step.</p>
<p>As they continued the path around the rink, Leah tried unreasonably hard to stay the perfect distance from Abby. She was very aware of the fact that their hands kept barely brushing each other, which shouldn’t have happened because of their thick winter jackets. But, with both of them not being very steady, there was no way to avoid stumbling into each other without standing a noticeable distance apart. </p>
<p>“This is way too hard,” Abby said, continuing to stomp her feet on the ice. So far, that was the only way she was able to move around. “I’m going to have to grab onto the rails again.”</p>
<p>“No, you can’t give up. You know Simon will never let you forget it.”</p>
<p>“You’re absolutely right, I can't let Simon win.” Abby looked at Leah as an idea came to her. “You stopped me from falling last time. I’ll just hold onto you and that way I won’t fall.”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure how good I’ll be at—” Leah stopped mid-sentence as Abby grabbed hold of her hand. “Okay.”</p>
<p>It was the only thing Leah could manage to say as she held Abby’s hand. She began to worry about her hands being sweaty, even though it was freezing outside. But, her hands definitely could still be sweaty. They felt a little sweaty. Maybe she was sick, because she was finding it a little hard to breathe.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Abby looked at Leah, her eyes soft with concern.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Abby and Leah managed to make it around the rest of the circle without either of them falling, which they both considered an achievement. Regardless, they immediately took off their skates before walking over to find Bram, Simon, and Nick, who were drinking hot chocolate with snowflake-shaped cookies.</p>
<p>“No, I’m just saying that they could definitely have more frosting,” Leah told Nick. “There’s so much extra room on the cookie.”</p>
<p>“But, see, their claim to fame is the cookie part. The front of their booth says ‘Georgia’s Best Sugar Cookie.’ I’m not sure that’s 100% right, but they can’t cover up their award-winning cookie with frosting.”</p>
<p>“Adding more than incredibly pathetic lines of frosting wouldn’t cover up the taste of the cookie.”</p>
<p>“But the frosting cannot be even a little bit the focus of the cookie or they lose their claim to fame.” Nick was near screaming at this point in the argument, trying to be louder than Leah’s arguments.</p>
<p>From across the table, Simon broke into laughter, followed by Bram and Abby. Soon, the volume of their laughter was louder than the previous argument, which drew attention from a nearby table. </p>
<p>“You guys...you’re so…” Simon managed to say in between laughs. “Why are you so passionate about this cookie?”</p>
<p>“It’s a very important topic, Simon.”</p>
<p>As the laughter died down, the group fell into silence while they drank their hot chocolate. Leah had always liked that about her friends. It was so easy to sit in comfortable silence with them. Simon and Bram were pressed against each other, Bram’s scarf wrapped around Simon. Nick, as usual, was spread out across the bench, while Abby—</p>
<p>Abby put her head on Leah’s shoulder. For some reason unknown to Leah, the simple gesture ruined the comfortable silence she had appreciated just a moment ago.</p>
<p>“So, uh, Abby, how’s the musical going?”</p>
<p>Abby straightened up immediately to explain all the reasons why the musical was apparently “falling apart and never going to be ready in time.” As she spoke, her hands flew around the air, gesturing to an imaginary stage. </p>
<p>“She’s not wrong, though,” Simon chimed in. “I don’t think there’s any way to save the final number.”</p>
<p>“It can’t be that bad,” Nick said.</p>
<p>“No, it definitely is. It sounds like everyone just forgets how to sing at the end of the show. It sounds like a hundred of me trying to sing a chord.”</p>
<p>“Then I’m sure it sounds great, babe.” Bram kissed Simon on the cheek before continuing. “But, actually, I watched the number last week. Simon was giving me a ride home so I hung out in the auditorium and it sounded really good.”</p>
<p>“Same here. I saw part of the show last Tuesday when Simon gave me a ride home. It sounded really good. Especially Abby’s solo.” Leah looked down at her empty hot chocolate cup. Hopefully, that compliment didn’t sound too weird.</p>
<p>“Aw, thanks.”</p>
<p>“Wait, can we backtrack?” Nick said. “I’m the only one who hasn’t gotten to see a preview of the performance?” He would have pulled off a sad puppy face if it wasn’t for the fact that he had chocolate on his face.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, Nick. We’re just waiting until it’s good enough for you to see.” Simon laughed and stood up before grabbing everyone’s trash and announcing that he was worried all of the wind would blow the empty wrappers away. As Simon walked off, Leah turned back to Abby.</p>
<p>“I’m serious though. You sound amazing. Ms. Albright would be thrilled if everyone sounded even half as good as you.”</p>
<p>“I have to admit, it would be nice to make Ms. Albright not miserable.”</p>
<p>“Just imagine it.” Leah held up her hands in the air as if spreading out a scene. “You finish rehearsal and look out into the audience. Ms. Albright says ‘great job! You can go home!’ And then you do. Without an hour's worth of notes.”</p>
<p>Abby dramatically gasped. “Do you really think that’s possible?”</p>
<p>“You can only dream.”</p>
<p>Abby started laughing, causing Leah to join her. She let herself stop laughing and take a breath before speaking. “You’re really funny, Leah.” When Leah jerked her head up to look at Abby, Abby spoke again, almost as an afterthought. “And you have a really cute laugh.”</p>
<p>Leah almost choked on the air. She glanced around, glad to find that Bram and Nick were talking together, oblivious of Abby and Leah’s conversation. Leah felt her face heating up. Didn’t Abby know how that sounded?</p>
<p>As Leah stared down at her hands, she tried to think of something to say. What would be a casual response? She needed something that sounded cool and calm. It was really unfortunate that she was neither of those things.</p>
<p>Luckily, Simon came back to the table, saving Leah from having to come up with a response. The group started talking, but Leah wasn’t entirely paying attention. She heard them talking about plans for the rest of winter break and how it was sad that Garrett had to spend the entire break with his extended family. She tried to add a few things to the conversation, but most of her thoughts were about the girl sitting next to her. Her mind raced, trying to think of all the possible reasons that Abby would be complimenting her like that. Leah had a feeling she was reading way too deep into the entire interaction, as she normally does. Abby was just being her normal, sweet self. That’s all.</p>
<p>“Hey, Leah,” a voice said, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up to find Abby staring at her. “Can I talk to you?”</p>
<p>Those words ended up confusing Leah even more, if that was even possible. In her experience, someone asking to “talk to you” was never a good thing. </p>
<p>Abby looked at Nick, Simon, and Bram before giving Leah a pointed look. “Alone?” </p>
<p>The boys across the table looked at Abby like she had grown an extra head. </p>
<p>Following Abby, Leah stood up and walked away from the table. She saw Simon give her a questioning look, wanting to know what was happening. Leah just wished she knew.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Leah looked at Abby, hoping that she would start talking and end whatever tension was building up during the unbearable silence. Abby had led her across the grounds, as far away from their friends as possible, and much too close to two trash cans. Abby stared at Leah, almost as if she was waiting for Leah to talk. Of course, Leah had no idea what they were meant to be talking about.</p>
<p>Finally, Abby spoke up. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that did not make things any clearer for Leah. Her confusion must have shown on her face because Abby continued speaking. “Sometimes, it feels like you’re flirting with me, and other times it feels like you want nothing to do with me.”</p>
<p>At that point, Leah assumed that she had never been more confused in her life. “What? Flirting with you?”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Abby looked down and started moving the bracelet on her arm up and down. “I just thought—nevermind. I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Abby darted her eyes up to Leah before looking back down and turning around. She paused for a second before lifting her hand in a half-wave and started to walk off.</p>
<p>“Wait, Abby!” Leah took a step forward and called out to Abby, much louder than she had anticipated. Luckily, even with the strange approach, Abby stopped and looked back at Leah.</p>
<p>Leah took a breath and spoke again, much quieter than the last time. “Do you—do you want me to be flirting with you?”</p>
<p>She immediately wished she could rewind time and say something else. Something more direct, or something that sounded even a little less awkward. Unfortunately, she could not rewind time and was left waiting for the prettiest girl she knew to answer whether or not she wanted Leah to be flirting with her. Great.</p>
<p>“Well, um,” Abby stammered, playing with her bracelet and looking as awkward as Leah felt. “I was, um, I was hoping you were.” She raised her voice slightly at the end of her sentence.</p>
<p>Leah could only stare at Abby. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Abby Suso, the girl who Leah had to try to suppress feelings for from the moment she met her, wanted her to flirt with her. It felt like a dream. It felt like it had to be a dream because this was a moment so perfect that it could only be carefully fabricated into existence by her own imagination. But there Abby was, looking at Leah and waiting for an answer.</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure what to say. Of course, she hadn’t been intentionally flirting with Abby, but it felt like the right thing to say she was. Leah wished that she had been flirting with Abby this entire time. </p>
<p>She decided to be as direct as possible. “I like you, Abby.” </p>
<p>“Yeah?” Abby finally looked directly at Leah, smiling. Her smile somehow calmed Leah’s nerves while simultaneously putting a million butterflies in her stomach. “That’s good, because I like you too.”</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>When Leah and Abby returned to the table, after a few minutes of staring and smiling at each other, they found that Simon, Bram, and Nick had already gone back to the ice rink. They grabbed their ice skates and headed back onto the ice, immediately grabbing onto the railing again. </p>
<p>“So should we tell them?” Abby carefully walked forward, keeping her focus on the ice. “Should we tell our friends we're together?”</p>
<p>Leah smiled at that. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to Abby referring to the two of them in that way. “Yeah. I think we should. Either way, they would find out about it by themselves soon enough.”</p>
<p>Abby laughed at that. “True.”</p>
<p>They made their way around the rink, still going incredibly slowly, but Leah didn’t care. She could be on the ice all day next to her girlfriend. </p>
<p>Abby spoke again, breaking the comfortable silence they had fallen into. “Can I hold your hand?” </p>
<p>“Why, so you don’t fall?” Leah grinned and looked at Abby, who slowed down so she could look back. </p>
<p>“No, silly. Because I want to.” At that, Leah grabbed Abby's hand and held it in hers. Abby smiled at her and they continued along.</p>
<p>From behind them, Leah heard a familiar voice scream. “Oh my God. Oh my God, Bram, I told you!” She heard a thump after the declaration, as Simon Spier fell on the ice. </p>
<p>Leah and Abby broke out laughing. “So I guess we don’t need to tell them anymore,” Abby said in between giggles. Even while tripping on the ice, covered in countless layers, and her face bright red from the cold, Abby was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. And now, Abby was hers, and she was never going to let go. </p>
<p>“I guess not.” Though she didn’t know she could, Leah smiled even more as she skated along, holding hands with her laughing girlfriend, and felt happier than she ever had.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please leave kudos/comments; it would mean a lot. I also feel it's necessary to acknowledge the fact that I'm eating Oreos while uploading this. Anyway, have a good day!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>